Not all dark clouds: Gas prices fall

By Tom Dalton
Staff writer

October 08, 2008 12:36 am

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The only good news in all the bad economic news is that the price of gasoline is falling — and falling fast.

"It's dropping like a stone," said John Kallas, the owner of the Best gas station on Route 1 north in Peabody.

And he should know.

The Best station lived up to its name yesterday by selling regular unleaded gasoline for $3.06 a gallon, one of the best prices on the North Shore.

"Wow!" said Neil Gamson, a spokesman for the Energy Information Administration at the U.S. Department of Energy in Washington, D.C. The national average on Monday was $3.48 a gallon, he said.

But the Best station, which accepts only cash for gas, wasn't the only one on the North Shore offering bargains. There's a station in Manchester selling it for $2.99, according to the Manchester Fire Department.

Closer to home, Cabot Fuels at 449 Cabot St., Beverly, dropped its price to $3.17 yesterday.

"I started the business (Monday) at 3 o'clock," Rad Alkhatatbeh said. He learned a lot about attracting new customers in just one day, dropping prices 10 cents by yesterday morning.

"I want to keep gas cheap here in Beverly," he said.

Two other gas stations on Cabot Street in Beverly are helping him reach that goal. American Petroleum, across from Henry's Market, and Beverly Gas and Tire near the downtown were both at $3.19 a gallon.

"We're trying to stay competitive and keep the people happy," said Patrick Sarkis, who works at American Petroleum.

In the past few weeks, prices have fallen dramatically across the country. In July, the national average for a gallon of regular unleaded was $4.06, according to the Energy Information Administration.

"The bad news about the economy is dragging the price down," said Bassil Zaza, manager of A.L. Prime on Lafayette Street in Salem, which was selling gas yesterday for $3.19 a gallon. "There is no demand for the future."

The federal agency agreed.

"Crude prices have been falling as the global economy has been slowing," Gamson said.

The price for a barrel of crude oil, which hit $145 earlier this year, fell to $90 this week due to anxiety over future world demand, he said.

The falling prices have definitely caught the attention of motorists.

"This is great, this is wonderful," said John Madden of Ipswich, who was filling up yesterday at Peabody Global on Route 1 north, which was selling gas for $3.09. "What I'm thinking is that home heating oil has to follow suit. I'm very, very glad for the elderly. Thank God it's coming down."

And more stations may be headed to and below the $3 floor.

"I definitely will be," said Kallas of Best gas in Peabody. "When you get this close ... you want to get to that $2.99 desperately.

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